American International Group (AIG) is shuttering all underwriting activity in Iran due to the reimposition of US sanctions by the Trump administration. The majority of the US insurer’s Iranian activities were inherited from its acquisition of Bermuda-based reinsurer Validus Holdings for $5.56bn in July. Validus’s non-US subsidiaries provide marine hull, war and cargo insurance to shipping companies that transport cargo…

RSA Group is exiting three lines of specialty business and scaling back its London market premiums by one third. Following a review of its specialty and wholesale business written through RSA Global Risk Solutions, the insurer will withdraw from international construction, international freight and fixed price marine protection and indemnity insurance with immediate effect…

Marsh has announced it will create a new specialty unit following the acquisition of JLT. Marsh-JLT Specialty will combine the specialty teams of both businesses when the deal closes, although notably it will retain the JLT name and key JLT executives will head up the new business…

Mutual insurance association Standard Club Asia, managed by Charles Taylor Mutual Management, has teamed up with China’s Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance to jointly offer professional and indemnity (P&I) cover for Chinese shipowners. China is currently ranked as the world’s second-largest shipowning country, behind Greece, and has the largest share of general cargo ships. The partnership will focus on…

Insurance buyers in North America will pay higher commercial insurance rates next year with some lines reaching double-digit increases, according to Willis Towers Watson’s Marketplace Realities 2019 report. Willis says hype about property rate increases following heavy catastrophe losses in 2017 masked where the real increases have pushed through – casualty and professional liability lines…

When goods are being transported, by land, sea or air, there are physical damage risks along the way. Goods can be damaged during loading or unloading, as well as during transit and even while in storage. Madeleine Griffiths, UK and Ireland cargo underwriter* at XL Catlin, now part of AXA XL, a division of AXA, explains how cargo coverage works…

No dominant post-Brexit hub is emerging for London company firms, as the market delivered a 16% premium jump in 2017 and its statistics begin to reflect changing dynamics bought about by the UK’s EU exit, according to a report by the International Underwriting Association (IUA)…

Mutual marine insurers The Strike Club and The Standard Club are merging operations. The Strike Club will join the larger insurer The Standard Club, which has A-rated financial security and more than $460m in free reserves as the world’s fourth largest protection and indemnity (P&I) club…